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Index
● Looking for jobs? Go to The LA Job List.
● Want information about teaching in Peru? Go to A Country Guide to TEFLing in Peru.
Writing a Teaching Cover Letter
Updated 11 November 2009
Cover letters are just as important, if not more so than your actual CV. A Cover Letter is the first thing that an employer sees, so it has to make a good impression. If you're looking for a job, find links in the Job Sites article.
Dos
● Personalise it for each employer. You should address it to an actual person, not just Dear Sir or Madam, or To Whom it May Concern. Call the institute and ask who the director is and address your cover letter to that person.
● Be careful of titles. With some names, you might not be sure if you're writing to a man or woman. In that case, you could just put their name. You can also follow it with, Director of Studies, Coordinator, or Applications Officer. If it's a university position, you could put "Dr." Even if the person isn't a Dr., chances are, they will be flattered and you'll score some points.
● Briefly sum up your CV. Give a bit of information about your studies and experience. Keep it short and simple. Your education and experience should be in your CV. And your teaching philosophy can be a different page as well. Remember that the cover letter is just to provide a brief introduction. Try to limit it to 2 or 3 paragraphs with 2 or 3 sentences per paragraph.
● Write in English. Even if the job advertisement was written in another language, your cover letter and CV should be in English. The person in charge of hiring wants to see your written English ability, not the ability to use their language. Using another language might actually works against you as the employer may think that you would use class time to learn the language rather than teach English.
● Put some effort into it. It's ok for your cover letter to be short, but writing nothing, or simply saying "Here's my CV" will not score you any points.
● Drop names. Just do it subtlely. If you heard about the job from someone, be sure to mention their name in your cover letter.
● Tell them why you want to work for them. Show the employer that you know something about them. If they are an IB school, state that you would like to put your theory into practice by working for them. Or you could tell them that you like working in a (small, big, co-ed, etc) school.
● Tell them what you have to offer. Why should they hire you? This is your chance to sell yourself. If you have experience creating exams, placing students, or being a head teacher, let them know.
● Be formal. There should be no contractions or informal language in your cover letter. Same goes for nicknames, use your legal name on your cover letter.
● End your cover letter asking for an interview. Remain positive that you will get the job and it will show the employer that you think you deserve the position.
● Write your contact information on your cover letter. Give your phone number and email so that they have a choice of how they would like to reach you.
● Go online and look for same cover letters. There are lots of examples out there.
● Have someone else read over your cover letter to make sure it makes sense and there are no mistakes.
● Update it when necessary. Take out the old information and put in the new.
Don'ts
● Don't be negative. Don't say that you don't have any teaching experience or that you only have taught for a short time. You need to make the employer want to hire you, not pass over your application.
● Don't discuss subjects that aren't related to the position that you are applying for. Waitressing, or working at a bar should not go on your CV unless you were involved in training of some sort.
● Don't state that you only want to stay for a few months.
● Don't talk badly about past employers. There’s no reason why you should say why you are leaving your current job.
● Don't talk about other people in your cover letter. That’s great that your mom’s a teacher, but how does that relate to you? Unless you helped her teach or observed her, don’t mention it. And when you refer to your mom, use her legal name, not “mom”.
● Don't rehash your entire CV. A cover letter is suppose to entice people to read your CV. If they both have the same information, there’s no point in reading your CV.
● Don't wait until the last moment to update it. You should update it every time you have something pertinent to add. Did you organise a talent show? Put that down while the information is still fresh in your mind.
● Find more don'ts in this post on eslcafe.com
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